PDF Virtual printers are a convenient way to create PDF files. These programs can save any kind of printable document as a PDF; all you need to do is to select ‘print’ from your favorite program, then select the virtual PDF printer and get a PDF file.
There are many excellent free virtual printers. We have tested 15 of these and selected 10 of them to evaluate and compare. These (in alphabetic order) are: Bullzip PDF Printer, Doro PDF Writer, PDF Printer (PdfSvg), PDF reDirect, PDF24 Creator, PDFCreator, Perfect PDF 7 Master, Primo PDF, Print2PDF Free and qvPDF.
The virtual printers that we tried but decided to exclude from the comparison were Bolt PDF Printer, CutePDF Writer, ImagePrinter, pdf995 and PDFlite, mainly because they were inferior by functionality, configurability, ease of use or contained ads.
[Note: this post was written by Freewaregenius contributor Priit L.]
PDF is one of the most widespread formats for document exchange on the internet. PDF (Portable Document Format) was once an Adobe proprietary format but was accepted in 2008 by ISO as an open standard. Everybody can create PDF files and there are hundreds of programs available capable of doing that. Many document editors can save PDF, and there are programs that convert documents like Microsoft Office DOC, DOCX, XLS etc to PDF, as well as a number of online converters are available to do this job. However, virtual PDF printers have emerged as one of the most reliable (and common) solutions for creating PDF documents. This post aims to evaluate the various freeware options out there and identify the best.
PDF printers can differ in functionality; however, we have identified some of the essential features as follows:
- The user interface: varied greatly, from no user interface at all to complex interfaces cluttered with configuration options. We came to the conclusion that a good interface needs to be as simple as possible for inexperienced users while offering some flexibility.
- Quality settings: ability to create lightweight files for web upload or big files for high quality printout;
- Watermarking and stamping: add Your identification watermark or stamp like ‘sample’ or ‘top secret’;
- Encryption and passwords: protect Your document by encrypting it and require password in order to open or change it;
- Print aggregation: ability to merge several documents into one PDF file.
- Output other file formats beside PDF: convert whatever document or web page to JPEG/TIFF/etc image;
- Append another PDF file as background image;
- Rotate the output image;
- Digitally sign PDFs;
- E-mail: send the created PDF by opening an e-mail program or even use a built-in SMTP client to send the file.
Note: If you would like to skip ahead to the conclusion section click here.
The comparison: introduction and user interface
In this section we introduce the various PDF printers and address the user interface.#1: Bullzip PDF Printer
- The interface: Easy interface. Configuration sets can be saved.
- Score for interface: 5/5
- The interface: Very simple and intuitive interface.
- Score for interface: 5/5
- The interface: Simplistic interface with preview.
- Score for interface: 5/5
- The interface: Main page too complex (cluttered) for beginners. Preferences (right) have sufficient number of configuration options.
- Score for interface: 4/5
- The interface: Balanced interface with enough basic options. ‘Save as’ selection (right) includes huge possibilities to configure.
- Score for interface: 5/5
#6: PDFCreator
- The interface: Simple interface, with complex configuration hidden under Options button, a bit dull
. Configurable Options are a bit cluttered.
- Score for interface: 5/5
- The interface: Simple and essential main interface. Settings are available under ‘PDF settings’ button.
- Score for interface: 4.5/5
- The interface: Quite simple and intuitive interface.
- Score for interface: 4.5/5
- The interface: Simple for beginners, can be expanded several times for advanced configuration (‘More >>>’). On the right screenshot the fully expanded interface with quality options is shown.
- Score for interface: 5/5 *** Editor’s favorite interface ***
- The interface: Simple interface. The configuration module (right) is accessible through Start Menu. Additional configuration is available through Printer preferences/Advanced (some in German).
- Score for interface: 3/5
Essential functions and settings
Here is evaluated the list of functions and settings that are mostly common to virtual PDF printers:| Name | Quality settings configurable | Print aggregations (append to existing file) | Watermarking, stamping | Encryption, password protection |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bullzip PDF Printer | Yes: screen, printer, ebook, prepress | Yes | Watermarking | Yes |
| Doro PDF Writer | - | - | - | Yes, master/limited access |
| PDF Printer (PDFSVG) | - | - | Watermarking: No | - |
| PDF reDirect | Yes: High, very good, good, low | Yes | Watermarking: No | Yes |
| PDF24 Creator | Yes: low/medium/good/best | No (Editor included allows to merge existing PDF-s) | Watermarking: No | Yes |
| PDFCreator | Yes: screen, printer, ebook, pre-press, custom | Yes | Watermarking (needs corresponding script) | Yes |
| Perfect PDF 7 Master | - | - | - | Yes |
| Primo PDF | Yes: screen, printer, ebook, prepress, custom | Yes | Watermarking (needs corresponding script) | Password protection: Yes (read/edit) |
| Print2PDF Free | Yes: High quality print, Smallest file size, manual settings | Yes | Watermarking and stamping | Yes |
| qvPDF | Yes. From printer preferences/Advanced. | Yes, append, prepend | Watermarking and stamping, from PDF file | Yes |
Other interesting functions
Here is evaluated the list of functions that are a bit less common to virtual PDF printers:| Name | Value |
|---|---|
| Bullzip PDF Printer | Output file formats: PDF (PDF/A), PS, EPS, BMP, JPEG, PCX, PNG, TIFF |
| Digital signature: No | |
| Append background or foreground layer to the printout | |
| Append if output file exist | |
| Open destination folder after completion | |
| Doro PDF Writer | Output file formats: PDF only |
| Digital signature: No | |
| PDF Printer (PDFSVG) | Output file formats: PDF only |
| Digital signature: No | |
| Preview of output | |
| PDF reDirect | Output file formats: PDF only |
| Digital signature: No | |
| Output preview. Options to change viewer's behavior: Windowed/Fullscreen, Hide toolbars etc | |
| Rotate Output | |
| PDF24 Creator | Output file formats: PDF (PDF/A, PDF/X), PS/EPS, PCL, PNG, JPEG, BMP, PCX, TIFF, PSD |
| Digital signature: Yes | |
| Email PDF. Merge and split, extract pages in PDF24 Editor. Support for PDF/A, PDF/X. | |
| PDFCreator | Output file formats: PDF, PNG, JPG, TIFF, BMP, PCX, PS, EPS |
| Digital signature: Yes | |
| Autosave - save all PDFs to a certain folder with increasing file name | |
| Send e-mail | |
| Perfect PDF 7 Master | Output file formats: PDF only |
| Digital signature: No | |
| Options to determine viewer's behavior: Windowed/Fullscreen, Hide toolbars etc | |
| Primo PDF | Output file formats: PDF, PS ('Options/Troubleshoot/Save postscript after finishing') |
| Digital signature: No | |
| Autosave - save all PDFs to a certain folder without asking file name | |
| Send e-mail or open afterwards | |
| Print2PDF Free | Output file formats: PDF (PDF/A, PDF/X) |
| Digital signature: Yes | |
| Presets: Confidential/High quality print/Smallest file size/Standard | |
| Add timestamp to PDF. Add file attachment to PDF. Merge PDF-s. Send e-mail by integrated SMTP client. | |
| Rotate, web view etc. | |
| qvPDF | Output file formats: PDF only |
| Digital signature: No | |
| Rotation. Merge/Split PDF-s. |
Licencing and technical details
At last here is the information about licencing and some technical details like 64-bit Windows support and GhostScript requirements. (Note: GhostScript (GS) is a common development tool that is used as a part of PDF conversion process, some virtual PDF printers contain this software or need it to be downloaded and installed separately.)| Name | License | Free of ads, popups, sponsor software | 64-bit support | GhostScript needed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bullzip PDF Printer | Free for personal or commercial up to 10 users | Yes | Yes | Yes, GS Lite is included in the installer |
| Doro PDF Writer | Free for personal and commercial use | Yes | Yes? Insufficient information | Yes, installs its own GS |
| PDF Printer (PDFSVG) | Free for personal and commercial use | Yes | Not sure, insufficient documentation | Yes, included in the installer |
| PDF reDirect | Free for personal and commercial use | Yes | Yes | Yes, included in the installer |
| PDF24 Creator | Free for personal and commercial use | Yes | Yes | Yes, included in the installer |
| PDFCreator | Free for personal and commercial use | Yes. The installer includes Pdfforge Toolbar, but this is optional. | Yes | Yes, included in the installer |
| Perfect PDF 7 Master | Free for personal use. Contact the authors for commercial use. | Yes | Yes | No |
| Primo PDF | Free for personal and commercial use. Quote: ‘Primo PDF is free when individuals in a company install it. If the company wants MSI support to distribute enterprise wide, they will need to purchase the commercial version of PrimoPDF. ‘ | A small Nitro PDF Reader advertisement beside the main interface. | Not in freeware version | Yes, included in the installer |
| Print2PDF Free | Free for personal and commercial use | Yes | Yes | No |
| qvPDF | Free for personal and commercial use | Yes | Yes | Yes, included in the installer |
Conclusion
Putting it all together – here are the overall scores for the evaluated virtual PDF printers:
| Name | Strengths | Weaknesses | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bullzip PDF Printer | Excellent functionality | Interface a bit dull :) | 5/5 |
| Doro PDF Writer | Simple and intuitive interface | Mediocre functionality | 3.5/5 |
| PDF Printer (PDFSVG) | Simple interface with preview | No configurable options at all. Help is not working, no FAQ, forum or additional info. | 3/5 |
| PDF reDirect | Good functionality | The main interface is a bit cluttered, some options could be hidden. | 4/5 |
| PDF24 Creator | Powerful functions, easy interface | - | 5/5 *** Editor's choice! *** |
| PDFCreator | Rich functionality | A bit dull interface :) | 5/5 |
| Perfect PDF 7 Master | Simple and fast | Mediocre functionality. Needs registration. Needs to unpack several files to a folder before setup. Needs restart after installation. | 4/5 |
| Primo PDF | Simple interface | Lacking some functionality | 4/5 |
| Print2PDF Free | Excellent interface and functionality. Excellent help and support | Maybe missing JPEG/TIFF image file output? | 5/5 |
| qvPDF | Good functionality. | Development is shutting down. Configuration is cluttered. | 3.5/5 |
There are several excellent virtual PDF printers that offer good functionality and have a balanced interface – simple intuitive basic interface and complex settings hidden from beginner or casual computer user. Four PDF printers got 5/5 and choosing between them was a bit difficult.
- The Editor’s choice is: PDF24 Creator
- Almost equal candidates are PDFCreator and Bullzip PDF Printer (although the latter is only free for commercial use for up to 10 users).
- Print2PDF Free had what we thought was the best interface, although it did not offer output to image formats.
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